Watch Heath Ledger’s Home Movies in Poignant New Doc Trailer

Heath Ledger‘s trove of never-before-seen home movies feature prominently in the moving new trailer for Spike’s upcoming documentary, I Am Heath Ledger. The film will premiere April 23rd at the Tribeca Film Festival.

The candid footage is interspersed with clips from Ledger’s various films and interviews with friends, family and collaborators like Naomi Watts, Ben Mendelsohn, Ang Lee, Ben Harper and Christina Cache. “Even as a supporting actor he will steal the whole show,” Lee says. “That’s the power of Heath Ledger.”

The I Am Heath Ledger trailer teases Ledger’s desire for, and struggle with fame and the profound impact he had as an actor, specifically his groundbreaking turn in Brokeback Mountain. It also offers a glimpse at where his career might’ve gone if he hadn’t tragically died of an accidental overdose in 2008. Much of the home-shot footage finds Ledger behind the camera, often training it on himself, and as his childhood friend Trevor DiCarlo says, “He was always a director, acting was just a way to get there.”

After it premieres at Tribeca, I Am Heath Ledger will begin a limited theatrical run on May 3rd. Spike will air the documentary May 17th with a physical release planned for May 23rd.